Tiganesti Monastery lies between Bucharest and Ploiesti, near Ciolpani, surrounded by the lake named "lacul Maicilor", famous for it's beauty, it's weaving workshops where nuns create works of art. This is where the cloth for priests' clothes is woven and also where the embroided decorations of the moorish hall at Peles Castle was created.

The Tiganesti Monastery is first documented by a sale and donation act from july 1780 by Matei Tiganescu and his cousin Paraschiva Caplescu who build a small church here. The place is mentioned under the name Tiganesti in various government documents from Moruzi 1793, Caragea 1813 and Dimitrie Ghica Voievod 1824.

Legend says that the monastery began in the time of Mihai Viteazul and lady Stanca, build by romanian monks from mount Athos, when the entire region was known as Vlasiei forests.

At first, a wooden church was build, where Clapescu family placed a marble slab on the altar with 1752 carved in it. Since Tiganescu donated the land, it came to be known as "tiganesti".

The monastery was at first a small encampment with a wooden church and housing for the monks. From the original church only the icon of the Holy Mother holding baby Jesus remains, an icon known to perform miracles. At the time the monastery was populated by monks and was alloted to the Caldarusani monastery. After a short period of time, the monks are transferred to Caldarusani and they are replaced by nuns from the Schitul Turbati - Silistea Snagovului and Schitul Maicilor from Bucharest, documented in june 5th 1805.

The wooden church is deemed too small and was demolished and in it's place a new church is build in 1812 which exists today, with the help of Radu Golescu and under Dosoftei as head of the monastery, from Caldarusani.

The building is constructed with specifics of those times, with a small tower above the entrance, decorated by tall windows.

The interior paintings were done in 1853 in neobizantin style by Eftimie. A long series of restorations took place in 1880, 1895, 1911 and in 1929 the entire church was repainted by Dimitrie Belizarie. The entrance still holds however several of the original paintings.

The exterior was redone in mozaic by Gheorghe Raducanu and paintings by Gheorghe Stoenescu in 1895 and restored by Gheorghe Samoila in 1989.

Great care was taken during the restorations done between 1977 and 1986, paintwork being assigned to painters Gheorghe Trasculescu and Valeria Musceleanu.

The two main buildings of the monastery having hallways supported by columns hold the nuns living quarters and a beautiful collection of art and books. They were build in 1920, surrounding the church.
The monastery itself is on a peninsula on unstable ground, and extensive consolidation work was done in the years 1980-1984.

The small graveyard of the monastery has a tiny church of the Holy Trinity, build in 1817 and painted by Anton Serafin. THe building uses a post-brancovenesc style. Among the graves here, note the monument of the Diamandescu family carved by Carok Stork in 1889.

Another remarcable building is the clock and bell tower, holding three large bells and a small one and the mechanical clock with two displays brought from Germany in 1911 and it's mechanism weighs over 1300kg.

The museum building exists since 1848, at first an orphanage, then school and a museum since 1989. Many icons on wood, cloth, glass and metal, old clothes, books and other religious artifacts.

Nearby are the workshops where the clothes for the clergy are woven. Here the nuns work using silk like threads made from plants and gold and silver threads. The machinery here are programmed by perforated cards.

Paintings with vivid colors, the elegance of the buildings, the fame of it's workshops and the tranquility that can be found here are beloved to all the faithfull visitors and inhabitants alike.

Christian-Orthodox web portal - Manastirea Tiganesti (ro)

ILFOV county Department of Culture, Religion and National Treasure - Manastirea Tiganesti (ro)

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